External fishing rod vibrators are well-known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,501 to Bryan and U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,534 to Yankaitis disclose battery-powered, elongate vibrators clamped to fishing rods. U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,317 to Boughton discloses a support for a fish pole.
Severe drawbacks of prior art fishing rod vibrators are that they are bulky, heavy, difficult to attach without damaging the rod, and awkward to actuate. Such vibrators typically have only simple on-off switches, whereas extensive research in the field has proven that lures need only be vibrated in short momentary bursts to have maximum fish attracting effect. Near-continuous operation is not only ineffective at catching fish but also quickly drains the batteries. Thus there exists a need for a fishing rod vibrator that is wholly enclosed by existing fishing rod structure, such as in the normally empty space inside the handle, with an easy to operate momentary on-off switch located near the fore grip, where the user""s hand is normally placed during fishing operation.
Conventional fishing rods have a tapered, hollow rod body having a large end, with internal walls defining an elongate, tapered cavity, and with end edges defining an opening in the cavity. A handle, typically of cork, overlies a portion of the large end of the rod body, and the handle has end edges defining an open end substantially coplanar with the end edges of the rod body. An open ended, cylindrical cap overlies an extreme end of the handle, such that the cavity is sealed when the cap is fitted. Typically the cap is adhesively joined to the extreme end of the handle, and the cavity is permanently sealed in an empty state. A reel holder is fitted over the rod body adjacent an inner end of the handle, with well-known structure for removably holding a reel. The fore grip is fitted over the rod body adjacent an inner end of the reel holder.
The fishing rod of the present invention has a vibratory module fitted in the space within the handle of the fishing rod that is normally empty. Switching wires are routed within the handle to a pushbutton switch mounted in the fore grip.